November 21, 2013 09:34 AM CSTNovember 21, 2013 04:35 PM CSTWe can change the way we think — did you know that was an option?

We can change the way we think — did you know that was an option?

Published: 21 November 2013 09:34 AM

Updated: 21 November 2013 04:35 PM

Related

Three years ago, I was riding in the backseat of my friend’s new car with a Styrofoam box of leftover ribs tucked beside my feet. I never got to eat them.

Mid-sentence, I was catapulted into a vortex. A car traveling 60 miles per hour T-boned us, leaving me gasping from seven shattered ribs and six other broken bones.

It’s crazy how much time I’ve spent unravelling the consequences of that event, which happened in a mere moment.

Through prayer, treatments, yoga and continual effort, I’ve recovered to nearly good as new, though I’m still learning valuable lessons one would never willingly sign up for.

Most recently, the lesson has been about hope and the power of choosing your thoughts.

I’ve cheerfully adapted to the constraints (no running) and requirements (maintain core strength) stemming from my injuries. But periodic impositions, such as minor surgery or back pain, rendered me hopeless and fearful, which bothers me more than the impositions themselves.

By last spring, I was desperate to learn how to stay positive during setbacks. I took a course on mindfulness practices, read books and articles on happiness and talked to many people.

I learned that I could change my thinking. Not my mind, as in opinion, but my actual thinking patterns. I’d never realized this was an option, because my thoughts were so automatic and ingrained.

Once I stepped back, I saw that I had choices. With pain, I don’t have to choose fear. How liberating. I’m slowly improving.

I’ve also started noticing the role thought plays in the inspiring stories of others and gathering hope from them.

Take a remarkable new friend named Becky Brown. I met her at an estate sale as we chatted, waiting for the doors to open. By the time I left the sale, Becky had agreed to meet me for coffee the following week to tell me more of her story.

At 49, Becky is back in college, nearing completion of the prerequisites she needs to apply to the cardiac sonographer program. “I survived heart disease, outliving the 3-to-5 years I was given,” she said. “Now I want to help others detect their heart problems and encourage them along the healing path.”

When Becky was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy seven years ago, she was obese and addicted to sugary sodas. She had recently ended a difficult marriage, begun in her teens after a turbulent childhood. Her doctor prescribed four medications, which Becky would need to stay on for life, and said that without intervention she could expect to live five years at most.

But Becky had other ideas. She wanted a long, fulfilling life and prayed for God’s help. She had surgery to implant a defibrillator and pacemaker. Then she started walking along the corridors of her office building for a mile twice a day. While walking, she imagined her future self, healthy and happily enjoying a full life.

She called these her positive-thinking walks. These led to decisions to get lap band surgery, quit her soda habit and dedicate herself to healthful eating. Next, she doubled her walks.

She soon lost more than 100 pounds and no longer needed the defibrillator. Next, she met a caring man. They married and began to travel, a dream she’d long held.

Her doctor told her she had beat the odds and no longer faced a shortened lifespan projection. She eventually worked her way off all four medications.

But personal success was not enough. Becky decided to go back to college to become a heart sonographer. “God has blessed me with more time and if I can do one little tiny thing to help someone else, I want to do it,” she said.

Becky’s success is so encouraging. It reminds me that I’m on the right path.

Kimberly Laustsen of Carrollton is a freelance editor and blogger and a Community Voices volunteer columnist. Her email address is kimberly.laustsen@gmail.com.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.